The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Lynx (Last Week: -1).  Put away The Bastard Utah Starzz/San Antonio Silver Stars in Las Vegas by 14 on Tuesday, and I seem to be totally wrong at them steamrolling to the WNBA title this Year.  (Chelsea Gray's absence has been bigger than I thought.)  It may have been the perfect Win for the Lynx, if there is such a thing.  All five starters scored in double digits, and reserves Dorka Juhasz and Natisha Hiedeman provided role production off the bench.  They then gutted out an 81-76 Win over Los Angeles at home on Friday.  They still lead the Western Conference by, I guess, 1 1/2 Games over overachieving Seattle (and Las Vegas, meanwhile, is 6-6!).  I will push this Lynx above negative numbers if they can climb over the two teams that have better records than then right now, Connecticut and New York.  Otherwise, this appears to be a very, very good club.

Busy screening Week for the team, but they get to finish off a four-Game homestand against the Wings tonight/Monday night, Atlanta Wednesday, and Phoenix Saturday.

#-2: Twins (Last Week: -3).  By all measurements this was a splendid Week.  Getting home cooking for one-and-a-half Weeks, Minnesota cruised to a 6-1 record, the only Loss being a 5-4 setback Tuesday to Colorado in which Caleb Thielbar and then Cole Sands melted down, and even then the Twins scratched out two Runs in the bottom of the Ninth to make it close.  But they won the series over the Rockies anyway, then swept all four tilts vs. The Bastard Philadelphia-by-way-of-Kansas City (and soon-to-be Las Vegas) Athletics over the weekend, including a Doubleheader yesterday/Sunday because Saturday's contest got rained out.  Carlos Correa has been on a heater lately, but the return of Royce Lewis this Week has paid instant dividends.  And by the way, the City Connect uniforms are growing on me.  They look nothing like the standard template, but if you see other clubs' City Connects, they don't either, and it feels as though these jerseys are supposed to be radically different.  (The Boston Red Sox City Connects are yellow, for God's sake.)

The only problem is that, despite their hot streak, the Twins remain in third in the American League Central Division.  They're now only five Games behind Cleveland and a 1/2-Game behind Kansas City, but the pre-season prognostications have been wrong and the Guardians and Royals have come to play this Year.  At least the upcoming screening Week seems there for the taking: They host struggling Tampa (can't remember the last time I could say that) for three beginning tomorrow/Tuesday, then hit the road for three over the weekend versus the Athletics in the squad's final visit to that shithole originally called Oakland-Alameda County Stadium.

#-3: United FC (Last Week: -2).  I understand that they have nine players from the senior squad gone due to international commitments or injuries or other excused absences.  But The Seattle Sounders are not a good team, and the Loons at least still have a decent team with Robin Lod coming back and a Head Coach who has shown he can make chicken salad out of chicken shit.

This was a prime chance to get a Point out of Lumen Field for the first time in franchise history.  That did not happen; they lost, 2-0, in a Match that, at least on the parts I watched on Apple TV, wasn't that close.  They have now lost all nine Games at Seattle, including (and especially) The Western Conference Final back in 2020 where they blew a 2-0 lead and lost.  Adding insult to injury (or injuries), Devin Padelford got knocked on his head and is being evaluated for a possible concussion, Michael Boxall (of all people) turned his ankle and had to leave the Match, and call-up Moses Nyeman got red-carded in the 90th Minute.

They now sit in fourth place in the West as they double up this screening Week: Wednesday MNUFC are in Dallas, Saturday they host Austin.  Looking on the bright side, Will Trapp will be back from paternal leave, Joseph Rosales will be back from suspension, and D. J. Taylor may also return.  And not a moment too soon.